David Montroni

Purchased. Thank you all. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Does anyone recommend a time management, scheduling, invoicing etc. app and/ or software? I've see a bunch of applications available for artists and designers (currently trying Thrive), but I feel like there has to be something more practical for what we do.

Looking to buy a used Ultra 2 vest. Located on the East Coast, near NYC.

Not follow focus, but still zoom related: I'm looking for the ability to zoom and ENG lens while using an AR Omega. Wireless is not an option due to the frequency spectrum already used in the studio. This is for the operator to control and should be a gimbal handle mounted controller. This is for studio use and will be used for along time. My thought process is a Libec, Stanton or gZoom with a super elongated cable, with only zoom capabilities. No need for return or comms control as the camera is a P1 with canon lens broadcast via RF. Does anyone have the pinout for the 8 pin lens controller? Does anyone have an existing solution which can be borrowed for testing or purchase? Does anyone have any better ideas? Thank you!

I've been using a 40" C-stand with removable turtle base, base removed and replaced with a 1-1/8" rubber tip. Then my docking bracket goes right onto the baby pin up top. Customizable height and its minimum height is about 45".

In regards to these foot stabilizers and traction getters: The Ice Claws were a bust. The cleats fell out on the first day. They are being returned to Amazon. The Stabil Icers were good, but they are a plastic later that gets strapped by Velcro to your shoe or boot. I wasn't a fan of them because of the separation between the plastic and my boot. Snow got in there often, I felt some slippage and occasionally they would get caught under things (i.e. stairs). These became my backups. I went to a mountaineering store and bought MicroSpikes. They are 3/8" spikes and they go around the boot by a rubber strap. I was hesitant because I thought the rubber would break similar to what happened to my YakTrax, but no. These things worked great on city pavement, carpet, snow, ice and metal grating (stand by for warnings). In the beginning it felt a bit like walking in small heels and my ankle was wobbly, but after a day they felt perfect. I used them to walk down the drop in to a snow SuperPipe with no hesitation, granted slowly and with a grip downhill of me… Dangers: Metal grating, especially scaffolding and steps to production trucks were bad. The spikes would get stuck in the metal and took some coercion to get out. One time I took an entire scaffolding stair with me, in the rig. Luckily I was moving slow and had the chance to stop. The other issue was after I would take my boots off, I could see on my feet where the spikes were. There were clear pressure points even with thick snow boots, rubber heels and insoles, so look out for that. Also, make sure that you put them on with the chain and metal laying flat and pointed down. I was very satisfied with the MicroSpikes. Seeing the small holes in the ground caused by the spikes gave me some confidence regardless of surface. I can put up some pictures once they return home.

What are the best ways to label your gear? I'm looking into engraving gear with a name and contact info, either by hand or have someone do it. I'm be afraid that stick on labels would not be permanent enough. Does any one have some advice? I want to label all the cases and each piece of gear - arms, sleds, monitors et al.

I was on ice, packed snow, pavement, metal grated audience viewing platforms, carpeted rooms. Usually with very little time between. And to complicate things: I wear a size 16 shoe. So I need the largest size possible, usually out of the range that most manufactures list. I'm going to try Stabilicer Maxx: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SMQX4E/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A19Y6EEY9IL19R and Bigfoot Ice Claws: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003SMQX4E/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A19Y6EEY9IL19R Once I get them, I'll definitely report back.

What about snow and Ice? Frederic touched on the Stabilicer's and I am looking into them. I'll be operating for the Winter X Games and last year my YakTraks didn't cut it. They broke from the various terrains that I had to operate on.

This was shot by Jon Beatie. a "walkumentary" was made about this shot, as well as the rest of the footage. They shot 24 hours of walking! http://vimeo.com/109682125 It was talked about on the facebook group, but I don't know about here.

Is that the only thing that will cause this particular issue? CoGs not perfectly in line? What is the degree of variation? They need to be spot on?

I went through and cleaned it very thoroughly. I used a different lubricant too. That fixed the issue... for now. I'm going to keep looking into other lubricants and cleaning options.

I use an Ultra 2 Vest, and it is new (purchased from Tiffen in early 2014). I've been using it almost 5 days a week now for the past 6 months. Recently, it has been making a little more noise than normal when under load. I've looked through the Vest portion of the forum as well as a few search variations. Usually, the noise is along the lines of a squeak, vibrating plastic on metal or metal on metal. I hear it most often when the rig is away from my body or when booming. I have tried to pin point the noise to no avail. It sounds like it is coming from the socket block or center spar. I usually clean the vest once a month by completely dissasembling it and going in all the nooks and cranies with a tooth brush or cotton swab to remove and dust or debry that might settle in there. I also spray a little Bar Keeper's Friend on a paper towel and rub down any spots that are hard to remove. Before reassembly it gets a little bit of grease in the parts that move the most. Alas, this most recent go had very little affect. I also went through and completely tighten it down. Every screw I could find was twisted into place. I do find this vest to have screws come loose more than other vests that I have used. Any thoughts on the noise? Or a way to keep the screws from undoing themselves (a little thread lock or clear nail polish)?

At the 2014 Winter X Games I was demoing a GoPro competitor- Reel Cameras HD Slayer- on my rig mounted below my lens. I also had on a Reel Cameras hat a few days. That brought some definite attention and I had a few discussions with both viewers and athletes about it. I try to go with show blacks as often as possible, if not just darker colors.

We were using the Wevi in studio and as you said, it was perfect during blocking but the minute the camera went to air it would break up constantly. It also got progressively worse over time. We blamed alot of it on RF interference from the shear number of microphones and other gear in our grid. It doesn't help that a studio with just as much gear is a wall away... During blocking, we would have just a few bodies in studio. By the time we had SMs, talent, other camera ops and cameras around, the signal got scrambled. We had to go back to hard wire and have been waiting on a wireless solution since. At the time, we were flying a Grass Valley LDK 4000 mkII. We switched to Sony 2550 and are back to GV.